How to get better outreach results?

Cold outreach often times lands unanswered. That’s why some recruiters like to emphasize volume and let the Law of Large Numbers work out its magic. That is one strategy but there might be a better strategy out there. One that focuses more on quality rather than quantity. One way to make your outreach better is to craft personalized conversations. To engage top talent, you have to arm yourself with the best candidate data. Now, more than ever, public candidate data is spread across numerous platforms. Once you have the right information, better outreach happens.

Here are some strategies that could complement your outreach efforts nicely:

Diversify and Manage Your Data Sources

The ideal candidate might be someone you’ve already been in contact with in the past. Their information might have been simply sitting around in a database somewhere and needs a little refreshing. A good strategy might be to start with those candidates by getting more reliable up-to-date information. You can start by using a Chrome Extension like ours to find up-to-date contact information, social profiles, etc.

Once you’ve exhausted your current database, you can begin your search somewhere else. Depending on the talent you’re looking for, you probably have a specific go-to source. In general, LinkedIn is a great starting point. When you’re looking for tech talent, your destination might be GitHub or AngelList. For more niche industries, we recommend you browse through social profiles made on specific blogs or online communities that are tailored to your audience. Again, you can use the same Chrome Extension, or whatever enrichment tool you use, to get direct contact information for the candidates you like the most.

Craft a Personalized Message

Once you’ve gathered all the important information, you’re now ready to write something that will catch their eyes and get them interested in your firm and the position that you want them to apply for. Your message needs to have a few personalized elements. A few examples are

How close they are to achieving a certain milestone (graduation, 3 years at a company, etc.)

A project they have put on their online portfolio

Relevant information about their career goals and how the opening relates to their career trajectory

Other relevant piece of content they have published or shared with the public

Your message should be short and sweet. It should introduce the job and your company. A potential candidate should be able to glean whether the information you’ve provided them is relevant to them. It should also provide them with enough value to take the conversation to the next step.

Use More Than One Channel

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, use more than one channel to reach your candidates. LinkedIn InMail should be your first attempt at reaching those candidates. As we’ve mentioned in a previous article, InMail does not always have the greatest chances of success. By combining your efforts with email, you’re pretty much guaranteed to get in touch with your ideal candidate faster. It is also just as important to develop your own email cadence so you have a follow-up ready.

Using these simple strategies can really advance your outreach efforts. Not only will you have a faster response rate, you’re more likely to reach the top talent you always miss out on.